


You Are Not Alone

by juggieheadcoopers



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, One Shot, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 14:03:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10855488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juggieheadcoopers/pseuds/juggieheadcoopers
Summary: Betty comforts Jughead after the phone call with his mother in episode 12





	You Are Not Alone

Betty settled back onto the wall of pillows propped up against her bed frame, listening to the rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain pounding hard against the roof and on the glass from the window next to her. Her mind drifted off to thoughts of the eventful night and where Jughead could have run off to when she heard a rustling coming from the window, her heart skipping a beat when she saw Jughead’s rain-soaked sleeve sticking to the glass as he tapped urgently on the surface.

“Jughead?” Betty muttered, swinging her legs off the bed and hurrying over to slide open the window. “What are you doing out there? It’s pouring!” 

Jughead slid onto the bench of the bay window, his suit dripping water into a puddle on the carpet as he shrugged off his drenched beanie and let it fall onto the floor beside him.

“Come inside, I’ll get you a towel,” Betty crossed the dark bedroom and silently slipped out into the hallway to grab a plush towel from from the closet, making sure to tiptoe her way back as quietly as possible in the effort not to wake up her mother.

Betty handed the towel to Jughead and he took it from her without a word, his frown deepening as he slid onto the carpet, and his gaze focused intently on nothing in particular in front of him.

“Where’s your head at?” Betty whispered, her instincts screaming at her to reach out and take his face in her hands, but her mind and body holding her back and telling her to keep her hands placed firmly on her knees in front of her.

“Miles and miles from here,” Jughead muttered, shrugging his jacket off and rolling up the sleeves of his white button-up shirt before pulling his legs up to his chin. 

“In Toledo?” Betty guessed, gently taking the towel from his hands and timidly wiping away the water droplets from his forehead. “That’s where your mom and sister are, right?” 

“Yeah, well,” Jughead mumbled, his expression hard and distant as he focused intently on the beams of light from the streetlamp outside the window shining through the darkness blanketing the carpet. “That fantasy was over quicker than it formed as a thought in my Dad’s head so no, no more Toledo.” 

“But you still want to go.” It was a statement, not a question, and Jughead turned to Betty with a look of surprise as she continued to dry off his damp skin. 

“It’s not like it matters,” Jughead shrugged, a pained look crossing his face as he ran his fingers through his damp hair. “My mom doesn’t want me there, so I figured why travel somewhere you’re not wanted when you can stay in a toxic town where you’re hated for a crime that your father committed.” 

“Juggie, I’m sorry,” Betty breathed, setting the towel in front of her and cautiously placing a hand on Jughead’s elbow. “What did your mom say?”

“She said there wasn’t enough room for me in the place where she and Jellybean are staying,” Jughead explained. “Which is really just a cop out because I only need a few feet of space to live comfortably and she’s gone most of the day for work anyway.” 

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I think that if I showed up in Toledo, she’d be afraid that she would finally have to deal with the life she left behind,” Jughead admitted. “And I don’t think she really wants to hear about that world again, especially the parts about my father.” 

“But she’d also get to see her son,” Betty pointed out. “That should be enough for her.” 

Jughead stood quickly from the floor, turning to pick up the framed photo of Betty and Archie sitting on her nightstand and looking at their smiling faces with knitted eyebrows.

“I’m not good enough for anyone, Bets,” Jughead muttered, his voice barely above a whisper as he set the photo back on the surface and turned back to the window. “It’s better you realize that now. In fact, I should probably just leave. Everyone does eventually, so why should I be any different.” 

“You’re not going anywhere,” Betty jumped in front of him before he could reach the window, locking her hands on either side of his face like she had wanted to do the second he climbed into her room. “And neither am I. You’re more than enough for me, Jughead. You’ve quickly become the most important person in my life and I couldn’t imagine a life without you in it.”

Betty could see the tears beginning to form in his eyes and she stepped closer to rest her forehead gently against his, breathing in his scent and running a hand through his dark hair.

“Call me selfish, but I’m glad you’re not moving to Toledo,” Betty admitted. “I don’t know what I would have done if you would have gotten on that bus tonight.”

Jughead was silent, his head and heart swimming with so many thoughts and emotions that he wasn’t able to express into words and before he could turn away or stop himself, the flood gates opened up and the tears started to fall hard and fast onto his cheeks.

“Juggie?” Betty pulled back to see the broken look on his face, and she quickly pulled him over to the bed and lowered him onto it. “Oh, Jug, come here.” 

Betty pulled Jughead into her arms, letting his tears soak her pajamas as he clung to her small frame, resting his head on her lap as she stroked the back of his hair.

“I’m here,” Betty whispered, scooting backwards onto the pillow and leaning against the bed frame. “I’m always going to be here.” 

Neither of them said anything more as Jughead’s tears continued to fall onto her pillow. Instead, Betty maneuvered herself around his still body so she could place a gentle arm around his chest as he lay curled in a ball with his back to her, his body shaking ever-so-slightly from the cold and the tears and the emotions from the evening. Silently, she let him feel everything he needed to feel in order to feel okay again and after every tear that had fallen, Betty was there to wipe them off his cheek until he slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep feeling safe and loved and anything but alone for the first time in a long time.


End file.
